In 2025, fire departments serving Harrison responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
552 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 125 | — | |
| 2022 | 117 | -6.4% | |
| 2023 | 85 | -27.4% | |
| 2024 | 138 | +62.4% | |
| 2025 | 87 | -37.0% |
For the 29 building fires Harrison departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 149 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 31 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 26 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 19.5% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Harrison mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 53.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harrison departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harrison sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,389 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 38.3 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Harrison. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.